The TwistOffs

Collectively weighing in at 1,667 lbs. and with more time served on stage than the average manslaughter sentence, The TwistOffs assault with a nasty, musical one-two combo. First, you're blasted across the chest (sorry about the mess) by the triple-brass horn section and you're propelled backward. Just as you think you've regained your footing, the sneak attack comes from below: a relentlessly chugging groove that hits below the belt, oftentimes leaving ones lower regions helplessly gyrating ad infinite. Such is the threat of The TwistOffs and it's concoction of worldly rock and offbeat humor. Hailing from the city of Kent, the musical Mecca of Northern Ohio's southern-central region, The TwistOffs have evolved into the Midwest's hardest working and most widely traveled original horn-based rock band. Formed by ringleader Erik Walter (guitar/vocals) in a dank, suburban basement in 1986, the band has since performed more than 2,000 shows, tracked more than 150,000 miles and covered over 40 states and three countries. The more than two decades of travel have led the band from hometown haunts like the former Nautica Stage (Cleveland), Blossom Music Center (Cuyahoga Falls) and former J.B.s Down (Kent) to such nationally noted clubs as the Roxy (Los Angeles) and the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco). The band has performed with such bands as Blink-182, They Might Be Giants, Keller Williams, Fishbone, Cherry Poppin Daddies, Gold-finger, Sugar Ray, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Jon Fishman's Pork Tornado. Currently in the works is a new full-length addition to the band's recording catalog. The yet-to-be-titled studio release, recorded primarily at Kent's Moondog Studios, is scheduled to hit sometime in the near future, featuring fresh, all-original material from longtime members Patrick Wilbraham (lead guitar), Brian Fricky (trumpet) and Walter, alongside newer members Kevin Walter (bass), Pete Heroux (drums), Mark Watt (keyboards), Tim Younessi (saxophone) and Norm Milavec (trombone). Live? Well, they're coming your way soon. As its been the norm for 20-plus years, when The TwistOffs hit the stage the unexpected is to be expected. You'd be well advised to suck it in and jump into the ring but watch for the suckerpunch.